Q3 Q4

Contexts

The Killing

• Social events- Social attitudes to gender are shown with a contrast between male politicians vying for power versus an ambitious female protagonist; both highlight the attitudes regarding patriarchal power being challenged, Lund vs Meyer. Suggests westernized shift in attitudes to be more accepting of women in powerful roles.

Stranger Things

• 
  

Context	Why it is relevant	How it is shown in TK

You must

• Have good knowledge of both shows and CRAIL
• understand context is important
• Analyse products using academic theories
• Evaluate and make judgments

How to structure this question, 

• Intro- Start by answering the question in a clear sentence. then talk about macro and micro- industry as a whole and the differences between Netflix and DR
• Each paragraph as a area on CRAIL, always start with the area of CRAIL the question focuses on. Discuss ST, then the killing and come up with the an evaluated point answering the question. Link key concepts.
• Conclusion with final judgment.

PLAN

• Intro- Look at macro, talking about LFTVD as an industry and the difference between the two DR and Netflix
• Audience- Differences/ Millennials/gen z vs older ABC1 demographic 
• Industry- Formats, Netflix is bingable- DR weekly viewing
• Representation- Lund vs Meyer, kids vs adults, 2007 Denmark vs 1980s Small-town USA
• Theorists- Neale genre representation, Hesmondhalgh

Steve Neale argues that genres are not fixed and that they adapt and evolve as the codes and repetitions associate with the genre change and are introduced by other forms of media.

Barthes Semiology theory

use of signs and symbols and how they are used to convey meaning and shape the world around us. The signs become universally recognized and normally reflect dominant ideologies and values.

ST-Guns associated with violence, 

Bell Hooks Feminism theory 

ST-Eleven defies the gender norms of the times by not appearing as a typical feminine girl

TK-Sarah Lund being a sergeant in the police in a male dominant industry

Q4
Structure

• Outline theory
• How can we apply this theory to ST? are there any limitations
• How can we apply this theory to TK? are there any limitations
• Conclusion-where does this apply the most?

Barthes theory of semiology Implies that signs and symbols develop meaning overtime and can be instantly recognized, often reflecting of the dominates ideology of those that view them.

In Stranger things we are see many intertextual references to events of the time, for example the boys 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Curran and Seaton

• A small number of conglomerates control the media who are all about profit and power in production
• The dramatic sensationalist headlines and celebrity stories used by the Mail it maximize profit
• Use of advertising and their wild stories that people will retweet and share to show how outlandish it is
• Still small companies which are less about profit and are more about social awareness

Hesmondhalgh

• believes in minimal risk and maximal profit as the greatest way for success
• ensure that your company is vertically or horizontally integrated, no distribution of power, use of takeovers 
• control over development, production, distribution, marketing and all parts of the production process

Livingston and Lunt

• There must be some regulation on what the news can and cant say whilst not being so censored to the point of complete censorship seen in countries like Russia.
• IPSO and IMPRESS regulate the media (ineffectively) must walk the fine line between protection and censorship
• With the introduction of the internet has made this easier to access usually censored media such as 18+ games and movies
• IPSO and IMPRESS have no control online allowing these spaces to be care free and produce whatever they want

Macro online Info

• Due to the decline of print news papers are starting to move more online over the past 10 years 
• online advertising is now more lucrative than print
• The times and the telegraph now have paywalls in order to make you pay or sign up to read the rest, whilst the times and telegraph make their profit through advertising 
• The guardian and Mailonline have very similar online presences with similar audiences size and viewership 

question 1 and 2

• Only talking about the sources
• Q1=10 marks This question will ask you to analyze the media language or representation in two sources. The sources will be extracts   
• Q2=15 marks 
• Q3=10 marks 
• Q4=10 marks

You will be given two sources to analyze from either a newspaper, news website or print newspaper

Our trial exams will be based on online web sources and we will be given a media language theorist 

Media language conventions

• colour
• online layout, header, footer, margins, navigation bar, tabs, sidebar
• online functionality, links to social media, hyperlinks, embedded multimedia, interactivity
• Images
• Language: formal/informative, mode of address
• Typography: serif, san-serif
• Stand first- typical of a tabloid, no stand first, typical of a broadsheet
• House style

Newspapers: Media language theorist

• Barthes: Signifier and signified: denotation of connotation; anchorage: myth (ideological meaning)
• Todorov: narrative equilibrium/ disequilibrium and narrative disruption 
• Levi Strauss: binary opposite
• Baudrillard: hyper-reality and simulacra (fake news?) 
• Neale: genres are not fixed and change overtime-'tabloidization

Tabloid press tend to be much more critical of any form of restrictions

Sun language a lot less formal and sensationalist with titles like 'Santa Maybe' 

Representation and ideology theories

Hall: Representations are constructed and contested. They are not fixed. This might particularly apply to representations which go against dominant ideologies

Gilroy: Looks at the creation of a transatlantic black identity. Also focuses on the way the media "others" non-white representations.

Van Zoonan-gender is contextual and performative (in this sense she agrees with butler)

Example: The suns representations of Pistorius's case where they use a pick of the murdered woman in a bikini

Q1 

outline the stories that is being introduced eg omicron and the imposition of new restrictions or Meghan Markle

Introduce one of the theories of representation, we can see clear difference between how Meghan is represented in both sources.

give example of the theory being used by looking at language, images, font choices, world view of the newspaper and what they stand for eg the sun being right wing 

are there anyways of disproving it being balanced  or not airtight

conclude and go back to the question- how far are you willing to go and how much does it say about the question eg gender/ ethnicity/ social class

17 minutes on this question!

Q2

Example: Source A and source B cover the same news event but are from two different newspapers. How has the combination of elements of media language created representations in the sources? in your answer you must:

• Explain how the connotations of elements of media language creates representations in websites.
• Analyse how media language has been used to construct meaning in the sources
• Make judgments and reach conclusions about how representations have influenced  meaning in the sources (15 makes)

Suggested structure frame for Q2

• Introduce The Sun/The Guardian and how they differ/ are similar. Consider genre (popular/quality), ownership, politics/ world view/ ideology of the paper, audience
• Unpick use of headlines, subheading , stand first, lack of and mode of address eg in the sun and guardian and sun how do they reflect their ideologies
• Analyse the sun and guardians choice, framing and placement of images and how do they contrast connotations of the papers ideologies
• Look at the use of language and the mode of address which differ from formal/informal
• Compare the page layout and use of space including proportion of image/ text, use of quotations, captions and other elements
• Draw conclusion about the differing representations to create meanings of the story: if you only saw one of these stories, how would your perception be swayed

15 marks= roughly 20 minutes, practicing of timing 

Sources A and B show the same event in different lenses Guardian is left leaning trust owned, mail is right winged plc

guardian focuses on the hospitals and the strain it is having on them, uses non emotive language and a causal title subheading is informative about case numbers and results no blame. Daily mail uses emotive language and a snappy title like 'Booster jab chaos'

The main stories of both shows use the ideologies of both websites, the wording used in source A is informal, snappy headlines 'Booster jab chaos' and can be used to incite panic. We can tell that source a is critical of the current government using unflattering imagery and wording to describe the current pm Boris Johnson. We also see the imagery as a way to be critical of the pandemic and shows more of an understanding of the papers representation.

source B, chooses to include a purely informative headline about the same story. Choosing to use much calmer imagery of hospital and focusing its main story on the affects on the NHS the new variant is having. The formal address gives an appearance of more broadsheet design as well as the layout being primarily print with small or unambiguous images shown on the page.

Narratology LFTVD

 Narratology- Todorov

• Todorov identifies the different stages of narrative, moving from the everyday life of the characters (equilibrium), the distribution to that (disequilibrium) and the resolution of that distribution into a new equilibrium
• The key use of Todorov's theory is in identifying the values and ideologies suggested by the narrative

Narratology 1

• S1/E1- initially a single stranded, closed narrative (looking for Nanna) but sub plots- importantly one whole series is one murder. Other are connected by a narrative arc.
• After S/1E1 multi stranded political narratives develop eg. the car Nanna was found in belonging to a mayoral candidate
• One hour/ one day makes intertextual references to 'real time' dramas like 24
• Three main narrative strands- the investigation ,the parents, the politicians

narratology 2

• Todorov can apply to S1/E1 with disruption being the abduction of Nanna and the new equilibrium being living after her death
• Using Levi-Strauss, narrative binary oppositions of the police v politicians is apparent in E1
• Narrative themes explored in the killing- from those connected with the crime and the wider problems in Sarah's life 

ST

• The equilibrium introduces the four boys playing inside a suburban family home- identified the social norms suggested by the narrative. This sequence focuses on the idea of the nuclear family living in suburbia is the norm, with responsible parent caring for their kids
• The disequilibrium is Will's disappearance- this suggests Will is more vulnerable as a latch key kid, reinforcing the social norms of a nuclear family
• There is no resolution at the end of episode one of the main narrative arc as Will is still missing until the final episode 

In episode 1, the character do not have any deterrence's about their friends being different, however many insensitivities are show in the episode as the bullies refer to Lucas as 'Midnight' as he is black, and Dustin as toothless and freak as he has a genetic disorder

the boys are ostracized 

Genre conventions

 Genre conventions depend on the repetition of codes and convention i8n media products

genre conventions are not fixed but rather evolve overtime as producers subvert established conventions, or use hybridity with other genres

genre codes are also established beyond media products themselves through sources such as reviews and marketing.

applying to ST

Stranger things blends genres, known as hybridity, where it demonstrates a range of generic conventions such as horror, sci-fi, romance, buddy and murder mystery to appeal to a mass audiences and make the most profit for its producers and distributors 21 laps and stranger things. Steve Neale's theory applies here as it identifies the use of genre and its influence on characters, narrative and representation. it also draws attention to the use of technique codes used and the importance of audience appeal when it comes to genre.

Nordic noire conventions

written from a police POV

dark bleak setting- significant night shooting 

Protagonists are complex and do not conform to any serotype- maverick representation

along with mise-en-scene the mood and tone 

challenging themes and social issues

limited dialog nothing unnecessary

long takes 

strong female representation, the central protagonist and is more like a 1940s detective from film noir

the carrying of burden- hatred, secrets hidden, exposes the underbelly of Scandinavian society

common tropes

The impressionistic use of light 

German expressionism of firm use of light to highlight dark and areas, the common one being the half-face which give a character a half shadowed face, highlighting visual turmoil or a multi-layer to their character 

This supports the trope of minimal dialoged and the story rather being carried by body language and the  actions of the characters

minimal dialoged used in the car on the phone

darkness only broken by car lights and flash lights

use of body language by Sarah Lund

scene shot at night 

hand held camera

shot of the victims legs/ violence

hybridized genre

standard police procedural conventions- narrative enigma

hybridized the thriller genre with the Nordic noire genre

Steve Neale's theory applies

Sarah Lund framed as taking responsibility

narrative tension builds as Sarah will not tell Theis until she is next to him

zoom out and intercutting shows greif

Stranger Things & The Killing

 The mark scheme

Level 4 comprehensive response- Show knowledge of the source and the context

Level 3 Adequate response

Level 2 Minimal response

Level 1 No response

For the January exam we will be asked a 30 mark question on elements of theoretical framework plus context, 

1. What was the first episode of stranger things called?- the Vanishing of will byers

2. Who wrote it?- the Duffer brothers

3. What was the release date?- august 15th

4. Which film company distributed it?- 21 laps Netflix

5. Which ear was it set in?- the 1980s

6. Can you name any historical events which are represented in Stranger Things?- The red scare

How characters are represented 

Joyce Bryce- Shown as a matriarch, Slightly unhinged and unreliable, Overprotective mother stereotype, Van Zoonens theory as she is viewed by the male characters as quite untrustworthy 

Dustin Henderson- A loveable innocent friend with a heart of gold and insanely loyal, his lack of front teeth are played laughs and make him seem more vulnerable and younger. The key example of a person in the buddy comedy genre 

Mike Wheeler- The main protagonist who is shown to be quite prone to anger compared to the rest of his friends, whilst also being loyal and caring about everyone including Eleven, clearly given some level of struggling in his character to make him more appealing. also shown to be a love interest early on for eleven.

Jim Hopper- shown to have a deeply traumatizing past as we first see him surrounded by alcohol bottles and clearly hungover, he starts off as a pretty carless officer. Shown to be the only character with a level of authority as the chief of police. Stuart halls theory of representation applies here as there is a large juxtaposition to his role and his personality.

DR Martin Brenner- We only see him for a few scenes in the first episode but from what we are shown with media language , music and appearances he is supposed to be the shows primary antagonist. Eleven is shown to have a connection to him referring to him as Papa and being more comfortable with him, however as he is the villain and Eleven is running from him it seems that the relationship is not an actual caring one.

Nancy Wheeler

Eleven

Will Byers

Lucas Sinclair

Steve Harrington

Johnathan Byers

Stranger Things S1 EP1

-Sci-fi elements with lab lights flickering

-From the horror setting to a suburban home 

-Cuts to the boys playing dungeons and dragons

-From the reactions of the boys you can tell their power dynamic in their friendship

-Father shown to be a quite carless person not showing his son and attention

The Demogorgon, it got me is a reference to later in the show

-The bikes they ride are a clear reference to E.T

-The lack of imagery of the beast chasing Will adds to the fear of the unknown

-The lack of any authority figures in Will's house shows a sense of loneliness and fear of abandonment

-Creature is clearly supernatural as its control over electrical appliances are shown and its ability top disappear and reappear wherever it pleases

-Cut to Hopper surrounded by beer passed out on the couch light a cigarettes' on his balcony, he is clearly loosing hair and has an undesirable physique, showing him as carless and untrustworthy

-Links to the idea that adults are untrustworthy

-We see the Byers household where it is shown to be hectic with both adults working long shifts and neither knowing where Will is

-When the boys are at school we see that they are bullied for their differences, where Dustin is mocked for his lack of teeth and Lucas is racially abused

-Elements of the romance genre with Nancy and Steve

-Steve is shown to be quite carless and laid back and not caring about whatever Nancy says

-Hopper arrives at the police station and is shown to be completely carless and would rather joke on with all the other cops

-Joyce comes in hysterical after not knowing where Will is for a few hours

-First look at DR Brenner and we enter into the lab and see the growth. Intertextual referenced to ghostbusters and more elements of the Sci-fi genre 

-Distrust of the government

-Eleven is shown to be nervous, deprived and vulnerable as well as somewhat feral with her face being covered in dirt 

-She is mistaken for a boy by Benny , who is originally shown to be quite aggressive however quickly changes when he sees how in need she is

-The boys seem to have a good relationship with their teacher as he shows of AV equipment, further showing their Buddy comedy ties

-Hopper is shown to be quite aggressive to begin with 

-Flashback to an interaction between Joyce and Will showing us there strong bond

-Many intertextual references top horror movies and horror characters

-Benny feeds Eleven and begi9n asking her questions, making him seem more of a caring individual

-First element of Eleven's powers are shown where she stops a fan, more supernatural elements and further dividing her from the norms of a female in shows

-They find Will's bike in the middle of the woods before we cut to several people in a room listening to phone conversations, showing that the government is on to them and attempting to cover something up

Return to News

•  10 national news papers ( the guardian, the telegraph, the independent, the times, the sun, the mirror, the star, the daily mail, metro, the express)
• 1. Who owns them- 
• 2. What is there ownership model-
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• 6.

Mini-quiz

1. Express, The daily mail

2. The Sun, The Sunday times, The Times

3. Centre right

4. Mirror, star, express

5. Because the newspaper does not make a profit

6. The Daily Mail

7. We're backing Britain

8. The heart of Britain

Your media exam will be on January 4th 2022 and will cover 4 news questions

over the next few weeks, we will tell you what you need to revise to give you the best opportunity to do well in exams 

News paper 1 section A- 45 marks

1. discuss the representations and use of media language from two sources (website, front page) using a named theory (Bell Hooks, Gilroy, Hall) with analysis (10)

must revise all theorist which will apply

2. Will ask you to analyse the two unseen front covers or webpages on the exam paper and answer a question on media language or representation. However you should discuss all CRAIL elements here. (contexts, representation, audiences, institutions, and language) (15)

3. A question on how context impact on production/distribution/circulation and consumption in the newspaper industry using example from your two case studies. (10)

4. A question on a named theory using examples from your case studies- online print (10) No analysis

Name of the website	Genre	Conventions	Daily/monthly readership
The Guardian	Broadsheet	-Lots of print and stories -Mostly hard news -Asks for donations -Updated live -Some Tabloidization - Linked with social medias  -1 or 2 soft news stories -Shirkys modern audience theory
The Daily Mail	Mid-Market	- Playing a video to begin with -Snappy emotive headline -Links to social medias to target younger audiences    -Some hard news with primarily soft, celebrity news news stories -Tabloidization of hard news stories -Political drama
The Daily Express	Mid-Market	_hard political stories to begin with -Perhaps 2-3 soft news stories in a broadsheet form -Reader interactions
The Times	Broadsheet	-Instant paywall -Recommended smartphone access -blend of sport, politics and celebrity news recommended -More classically broadsheet less in your face with stories -

  

How to answer question 3

Macro	The News industry is ran as an oligopoly, meaning only 3 institutions hold 80% of the newspaper industry The news industry became known as the 4th estate, and the job of the press hold powerful positions. This has lead to politicians and the press gathering a close relationship as it can become mutually beneficial for the press to have a conservatives government in charge, and the government having the paper portray politicians as good people
Economic	The print industry is in decline currently. This is because digital news bests them in everyway as it is faster, more easily found, cheaper or even free and more interactive than papers This has lead to the Mail and the Guardian having quite successful websites, with the Mail having 35 million online viewers a month with around 70% of an international audience whilst the Guardian has 36 million viewers Economically they have had to invest in order to adapt to compete with online media, and for the first time has recorded a profit, at the expense of hundreds of editorial jobs
Political	The press is considered the fourth estate of society Politically, we live in a capitalist democratic society with a free market- this is why it is possible for an oligopoly was able to occur. which is dominated by right wing press currently. This is also why these systems need to be regulated as well as free press.
Regulatory	After the phone hacking scandal it was revealed that the Sun were hacking a missing girls phone to get stories. This lead to the two regulatory body of IPSO and IMPRESS which have both proven rather ineffective Post Leveson inquire, IPSO is funded by the papers themselves and upholds the editors codes of conduct, however is quite toothless with little actual power and rather ineffective in enforcing rules IMPRESS is the only state backed regulator but has no one signed up for it The Guardian refused to sign up for IPSO and instead became self regulated by the Scotts trust.
Cultural/ Historical	British cultural tradition Since the 1990s the industry has been migrating online in historic shift Audiences prefer online media and their are increased expectations of entertainment and acceptance of marketing and self promotion with 24 hour news brand are struggling to compete however, absorbing the newspapers are part of our cultural life Ownership concentrated in a few hands mean newspapers support one-dimension view of British culture
Social	The way audiences consume interact, and pay for news papers  News reflects what is happening society and reflects current social concerns Levels of trust in news brands are rising in the era of fake news and they are seen as sources of reliable information and informed opinion

 

just 3 companies own 80% of the newspaper market. An oligopoly

NB-the guardian only makes up 10% of this share

Explain how cultural contexts influence the way that newspapers are consumed. Refer to the guardian and daily mail news papers in you answers

Why are newspapers important in Britain, why do people choose certain news brands to receive their news?

• The shift in the way we receive news
• Both the mail and the guardian are well established

Intro

• Macro comments, 
• the newspapers are part of there culture, 
• the UK media is controlled, 
• showing statistics of media decline

Section 1

• outline the key differences between the two newspapers and contrasts for example, the daily mails organizational structure with Viscounte Rothermere at the head whilst the guardian is ran through a not for profit trust with 100% of proceeds going back into keeping the paper running. Also take about the reason for the two papers existance4 such as daily mail being designed for profit as well as to spread the businesses ideologies, where as the guardian is for acting as a foil for the pother paper covering more hard news with a more liberal approach to it. include theoriest in this section such as Gerbners cultivation theory.

Section 2

• start with cultural differences between the two
• mention of historical context in the papers examples before shifting to modern media
• mention of readers ideologies through the stories shown

To conclude

• shows the big differences in how more efficient online media is for current audiences